EXCLUSIVE: Vashu Bhagnani claims David Dhawan refused to shoot Coolie No 1 in London: “He and Varun felt they would get trolled if a Coolie was shown in London. But they shot in Bangkok. According to David ji, a Coolie can go to Bangkok but not London!”
By Fenil Seta Fri May 22 22:54:30 IST
At the press conference, Vashu Bhagnani said, “I suffered a loss of around Rs. 27 crores in Coolie No 1. I was just a namesake producer on that film. It was David ji who 100% handled the production and expenses. I paid David ji big money to make that film; almost Rs. 70 crores, which was not even his worth.”
Later, Vashu exclusively told Bollywood Hungama, “Since David ji was handling the production, I didn’t have much say in the whole process. At that time, I wanted to shoot in London, UK. I would have received a huge subsidy. However, David declined to shoot there. He told me, ‘Varun is saying that if we show a Coolie in London, the media would make fun of our film’. But later, they shot a part of the film in Bangkok. So, according to David ji, a Coolie can go to Bangkok, but he can’t go to London!”
Vashu Bhagnani further said, “At that time, I didn’t say anything in public, but I am speaking now after the Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai episode. Whenever I have stepped back and let others take over the production, I have suffered. The two other instances are Ganapath (2023) and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (2024). In all these films, I faced financial losses.”
Also Read: Vashu Bhangani says, “After taking legal action, maine apne aap ko MAARA hai; if David Dhawan tells me, I’ll jump from 22 floors for him, but it has to be for an ethical cause… I didn’t sleep for 6 months when Ramesh Taurani was embroiled in a murder case”